Fall River City Pier projections: Ready to go by '17 for $7 million

If all goes as planned, the City Pier could be ready to be leased to a developer sometime between 2016 and 2017 at a cost of about $7 million.

That was the update given to the members of the Fall River Office of Economic Development on Thursday by Vice President Kenneth Fiola Jr.

He said the plan is to have a design and cost analysis prepared by the first quarter of 2014.

Jo C. Goode

If all goes as planned, the City Pier could be ready to be leased to a developer sometime between 2016 and 2017 at a cost of about $7 million.

That was the update given to the members of the Fall River Office of Economic Development on Thursday by Vice President Kenneth Fiola Jr.

He said the plan is to have a design and cost analysis prepared by the first quarter of 2014.

Nine years ago — when the Fall River Redevelopment Authority, which owns the property, first began the project — contamination, including cancer-causing PCB’s, was discovered at the site, and more contamination was discovered during initial cleanup efforts.

Before work can begin, a 3-foot cap will have to be installed to cover the remaining contamination. The EPA has signed off on the plan, Fiola said.

Underwater analysis of the seawall is complete, and gaping holes in the seawall were discovered, which will prohibit it from handling the extra weight of the cap.

The Redevelopment Authority is planning to shore up the seawall, which will need to support a 3-foot cap to cover the contaminated river floor, Fiola said. That project could cost up to $5 million.

Fiola presented renderings of the site that scale back from its use as a full-service, 110-slip marina to smaller facility that would include the construction of a restaurant between the north and south piers.

The proposed facility could be used for transient and permanent boat slips.

Fiola said the plan is to prepare the pier for a developer who would construct the pilings, docks and restaurant.

Talks are underway with Interstate Navigation, Fiola said. The company will offer fast-ferry service from the city’s State Pier, 1 Water St., to Old Harbor in downtown Block Island with a stop in Newport starting next summer.

Fiola said they are discussing whether, once work on the pier is complete, the fast-ferry could use the site to board and let off passengers while still being berthed at the State Pier.

How the Redevelopment Authority will fund the project is still an unknown. Mayor Will Flanagan suggested a portion of the money could come from a 25-year loan, while City Council President Linda Pereira discussed using cash collected from Community Preservation Act, which was approved by voters last November.

In August, the authority received a $625,000 grant from MassDevelopment — the state’s finance and development authority — toward the City Pier project. In 2010, the state Seaport Advisory Council awarded $2.2 million in state and federal funds to clean the contamination.

Email Jo C. Goode at jgoode@heraldnews.com.

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